Social work in health care
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The Quick Response Team, consisting of physicians, nurses and social workers in an emergency room setting, conducted a five month pilot project whose overall goal was to eliminate unnecessary admissions to an acute care hospital. This paper reports on the three social work objectives of the program: high risk screening and direct intervention, including assessment, short-term counselling, information, and referral; follow-up services; and social work coverage to all units after hours. Over a 4 month period 11.6% of all patients in the emergency room were assessed by the social work staff and 24 non-acute admissions were deferred. The results of the study confirm the effectiveness of a social work presence in the emergency department in reducing non-acute admissions and in providing continuity of care for patients at high social risk.
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A survey of 120 mental health social workers inquired about their interactions with four mental health mutual-aid groups in Chicago. Fifty-six percent of the sample referred to one or more of the four groups but only 26% performed linking activities other than referral. ⋯ The linking roles they recommended were directive, rather than egalitarian. Recommendations for practice are offered.
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Soc Work Health Care · Jan 1978
Emergency department social work: a program description and analysis.
This article reports on the development of a social work component in the Emergency Department of a teaching-research hospital. It examines the rationale for developing the service and the objectives of the program. It also presents a statistical analysis of the first 2 full years of service. Finally, some of the major problems experienced in establishing such a program are discussed and possible solutions recommended.
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The treatment of children who require long-term hospitalization cannot remain encapsulated within the hospital. Collaborative efforts must be established within a network of community physicians, health specialists, and facilities. Each child is treated within the context of his family and community, even while hospitalized. Such treatment plans can be conceived and carried out only when there is a commitment to develop and maintain a viable collaborative treatment network.
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Geriatric day care is currently receiving considerable attention as an alternative to institutionalization for a certain segment of our nation's chronically ill and impaired elderly. There are, however, few clear descriptions of day care and even fewer programmatic guidelines. In an effort to clear up some of the issues, this paper (a) defines geriatric day care and describes various types of geriatric day care centers, (b) discusses the place of day care in the long-term care continuum, and (c) describes the Levindale Adult Day Treatment Center as one model of geriatric day care.